Police researching the final days of Manchester terror attacker Salman Abedi have released a new image of him carrying a bright blue suitcase in the days before the attack.

Officers have urged anyone who may have seen him with the distinctive bag between May 18 and 22 to come forward.

They say he was seen in Manchester city centre with the case, but stress it is a different item to the one used in the attack, the Mirror reports.

The image was released as a man believed to be Salman Abedi was captured on CCTV shopping just hours before the Manchester attack which killed 22 people.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit said: “We continue to track the final movements of Salman Abedi and are particularly interested in his whereabouts between 18 and 22 May 2017.

“Today, we are releasing an image of carrying a distinctive blue suitcase and an image of a replica of the case. We know he visited the Wilmslow Road area of Manchester and was also seen in Manchester city centre with the blue suitcase.

“Did you see Abedi with this suitcase between the 18 and 22 May 2017? Where did you see him with it during that time? You may have seen him in the Wilmslow Road area or Manchester city centre with the suitcase or know where the suitcase has been. If you have any details about the suitcase we need you to get in touch and let us know."

The statement continued: “We believe Abedi was in possession of this case in the days before the attack at Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May. I want to stress that this is a different item than the one he used in the attack. This image was taken from CCTV in the city centre on 22 May.

“We have no reason to believe the case and its contents contain anything dangerous, but would ask people to be cautious. Anybody with information about the whereabouts of the case between 18 and 22 May should call the Anti-Terrorist Hotline in confidence on 0800 789 321.

“The public should not approach the case if they see it but contact police immediately on 999.

“This remains a live investigation and if you have any images or footage you believe can assist us then please upload them to UKpoliceimageappeal.co.uk or UKpoliceimageappeal.com as soon as you can.”

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Abedi's father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli with his brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

A 23-year-old man - named in reports as Abedi's older brother Ismail - was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday.

Ramadan Abedi had earlier claimed his son Salman was innocent, saying: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."

The developments came as the police investigation was hit by further leaks to the US media, with the New York Times releasing crime scene photos appearing to show bomb fragments and the backpack used to conceal the explosive.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said the leak of the pictures breached trust and "undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families".

Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise UK concerns when she meets US President Donald Trump at a Nato meeting in Brussels on Thursday.

Twenty-two people were killed and dozens seriously injured when Abedi, 22, detonated a device as fans left an Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

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The bombing was the deadliest terrorist incident to hit the UK since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005 and sparked a nationwide security operation amid fears further strikes could be imminent.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and as I've said, it continues at pace, this extensive investigation is going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester as we speak."

The force said it was "confident" it had identified every victim but they would not be formally identified until after post-mortem examinations were completed in four to five days.

There were reports that members of the public reported Abedi to the anti-terrorism hotline several years ago.

An unnamed Muslim community worker told the BBC two people who knew the attacker at college tipped off officers after he made statements "supporting terrorism" and expressing the view that "being a suicide bomber was okay".

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Manchester Arena Terrorist Attack

The calls are thought to have been made five years ago after Abedi left school, the community worker added.

Mrs May will chair a fourth meeting of the Government's Cobra emergency committee since the Manchester attack, on Thursday morning, Downing Street said.

In response to the heightened threat, the Government has activated Operation Temperer, providing up to 3,800 troops to support the police in security operations.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 military personnel were being deployed around the country, which the Metropolitan Police said had freed up 1,000 armed officers to carry out patrols.

She confirmed Abedi had recently returned from a visit to Libya, and said the nature of the attack suggested he may have had support.

A spokesman for Libyan authorities said one of Abedi's final acts before the murders was to ring his mother.

He told BBC2's Newsnight: "His brother felt there was something going on there in Manchester and he thought his brother would do something like bombing or attack. So after that, he told us, 'Having internet, I see the attack in Manchester and I knew that's my brother'."

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The spokesman added that Libyan authorities were aware of Abedi going to the capital of Tripoli on April 18 and believed he stayed for two or three weeks.

He revealed that Abedi's younger brother Hashim had been investigated for about a month and a half over suspicions that he was linked to IS.

"We were not quite sure about this, but when we arrested and we asked him, he told us, 'I have ideology with my brother'. Hashim told us, 'I know everything about my brother, what he was doing there in Manchester'."